A close reading of Russia’s nuclear statements and actions during the first seven months of its war against Ukraine reveals a threefold approach. Moscow is walking a fine line between a well-crafted and successful deterrence strategy to prevent foreign military intervention; a more modest and...

Although plutonium has been studied by different disciplines (such as technology and innovation studies, political sciences) since its discovery, back in 1940 at the University of California (Berkeley), the resource and environmental economic literature is still relatively scarce; neither does the...

This paper establishes the feasibility of Low-Enriched Uranium fueled Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (LEU-NTP) reactors in the low-thrust region below 16klbf (71kN). A reference, 7.5klbf, HEU design is converted to 19.75% enriched LEU and shown to be capable of reaching criticality and meeting other...

There are disturbing connections between two existential threats to our civilization, the increasing impact of global heating and biodiversity/ecosystem losses, and the threat posed by the existence of thousands of nuclear weapons, many of them on hair-trigger alert. Taken together with the...

A low carbon electricity generating technology can only contribute to the net-zero energy transition if it is able to scale up. From that perspective, we compare nuclear, wind and solar power wrt. the size of a typical power plant, across the criteria of physical scalability, building experience...

The North Korean nuclear debacle has renewed academic debates over the predictive accuracy of theories of nuclear proliferation. A recent piece found most of those theories deficient for predicting that case.Are the same mechanisms explaining past choices for nuclear proliferation or nuclear...

Due to its technical complexity, the co-production of electricity generation and nuclear weapons, and its high fixed costs, nuclear power is a particularly complex commodity, which poses unusual challenges for state economic (or industrial, defense, innovation etc.) policy. As in other sectors,...

The development of clean and sustainable energy around the world has become a necessity as a result of the negative effect energy generated from fossil fuel have on the environment. Ghana intends to add nuclear power to its generation mix by 2029. This paper uses the SWOT analysis tool to assess...

At just 4.4 percent, the contribution made by nuclear power to meeting the world’s primary energy requirements is marginal and on the decline. The current nuclear power fleet is outdated with around 200 plants due to be phased out over the next ten years compared to as few as 46 new nuclear...

There are disturbing connections between two existential threats to our civilization, the increasing impact of global heating and biodiversity/ecosystem losses, and the threat posed by the existence of thousands of nuclear weapons, many of them on hair trigger alert. Taken together with the...

This paper analyzes the nature of democratic development in a nation on the process of introducing nuclear power over the period 1960 - 2017 for an unbalanced panel of 171 countries. Given the involved political process of introducing nuclear power and its political importance, as well as the...

With Germany's nuclear phase-out, 23 reactors need to be dismantled in the near future. Initiated by the dire financial situation of the affected utilities in 2014, a major discourse on ensuring financial liability led to a redistribution of liabilities and finances, with the utilities remaining...

This paper analyzes the nature of democratic development in a nation on the process of introducing nuclear power over the period 1960 - 2017 for an unbalanced panel of 171 countries. Given the involved political process of introducing nuclear power and its political importance, as well as the...

1. The dawn of the Nuclear Age -- 2. From basic physics to awesome weapons -- 3. Australia and the British bombs -- 4. The Australian Atomic Energy Commission -- 5. Ranger, the Fox Report and uranium exports -- 6. The politics of uranium in the 1970s and 1980s -- 7. Chernobyl, Climate Change and...

The have-nots -- A thousand years into one -- Forgetting the bad dreams of the past -- Colored and white atoms -- Turf wars and green revolutions -- Water, blood, and the nuclear club -- Nuclear mosques and monuments -- The era of distrust -- Conclusion: The cornucopian illusion.

As exemplified by the recent proposed mergers of Exelon Corporation (“Exelon”) with Pepco Holdings, Inc. (“PHI”) and NextEra Energy with Hawaiian Electric Industries, nuclear-heavy utility companies are increasingly seeking to offset the losses they are experiencing by acquiring...

Nuclear deterrence is central to international relations theory and practice. Most people assume that countries must possess nuclear weapons in order to reap deterrence benefits from their nuclear programs. Nuclear deterrence without bombs is seemingly impossible, since countries would be unable...

Following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the EU launched several nuclear decommissioning assistance programmes (NDAP) to help Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Slovakia safely close and dismantle their early Soviet-designed reactors while acceding to the EU. The NDAPs provide financial assistance for...

Following the first oil crisis, France launched the world’s largest ever nuclear energy program, commissioning 58 new reactors. These reactors are now reaching 40 years of age, the end of their technological lifetime. This places France at an energy policy crossroads: should the reactors be...

Skeptics point out, with some justification, that the nuclear industry's prospects were dimmed by escalating costs long before Fukushima. If history is any guide, one direct consequence of the calamity in Japan will be more stringent safety requirements and regulatory delays that will inevitably...

Nuclear power is capable of supplying large amounts of low‑carbon electricity and heat cost‑effectively while creating a large number of high‑value jobs in the local and national economies. The post‑COVID‑19 economic recovery is a perfect opportunity to create jobs and economic...

Introduction: energy and the institutional development of the Russian state -- Energy and Russia's foreign policy towards post-Soviet states -- The electricity industry: RAO UES and Inter RAO -- The nuclear energy industry: Minatom/Rosatom -- The oil industry: Lukoil -- The oil industry:...

Reviews the prominent works in recent years on the relative merits of total nuclear disarmament, and argue that while nuclear weapons have not become irrelevant, they have become less relevant as a result of the processes of globalization